Chicken Soup for Ryoma's Soul
by Shizuka Namura
Summary: Ryoma falls ill with a really bad case of the flu, but with his parents and cousin in America visiting relatives who is left to take care of him? Why, Yukimura of course  ! Will love blossom between the two?
1. I'm not sick!

Summary: Ryoma falls ill with a really bad case of the flu, but with his parents and cousin in America visiting relatives who is left to take care of him? Why, Yukimura of course ! Will love blossom? I think I'll set it in high school so Ryoma's a freshman at Seishun Gakuen high school since it just makes more sense this way.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis; if I did this pairing would be canon simple as that.

**Chicken Soup for Ryoma's Soul **

**Chapter 1: "I'm not sick!"**

The moment Ryoma opened his eyes he knew something was wrong. His throat felt raw, like he had swallowed a bag of needles, his head was pounding and his eyes felt like they had had sand thrown in them and then the sand had been lit on fire. Simply put he felt like hell and staying home probably would have been a good idea however…

"Tennis," Ryoma mumbled aloud, this was followed by a short coughing fit. Ahh yes, our favorite little cat-eyed boy couldn't skip tennis practice. For one Tezuka-buchou would ring his pretty little neck and for another it was, well, tennis – what more can be said? So, Ryoma forced himself to get up and get dressed, on his way downstairs he fully expected – and half hoped – that his mother would appear and chase him back upstairs; however, as his fevered mind caught up with his body Ryoma remembered that his parents and Nanako were in America visiting relatives. Oh darn, Ryoma let out a sigh, with no one to chase him back to bed he would just have to go to school and more importantly tennis practice.

Ryoma poured himself a bowl of cereal; he didn't know how to make anything else so it would have to do. He took a bite, gagged on it and forced it down deciding that he wasn't particularly hungry after all. He set the cereal on the floor for Karupin to eat later, grabbed his things and headed off for school.

YukiRyo Linebreak of Awesomeness!

Tezuka was NOT a happy camper when Ryoma showed up for morning practice twenty minutes late. Actually Ryoma should be quite thankful that Fuji-sempai was there, if he hadn't been then Tezuka would have been a lot less, er, "preoccupied" and would have given Ryoma twice as many laps. As it was Ryoma got let off easy only having to do 50 laps, still to him it felt like torture. The only reason he was late was because he had had to stop and rest a couple of times on his way to school as he was afraid he would pass out if he didn't. As he finished his laps Ryoma burst into a coughing fit that left him gasping for air.

"Ochibi!" The little air that he had managed to suck in was immediately knocked out as his red haired sempai wrapped him in what could only be called a hug of death.

"Eiji! You're hurting him!" Never had Ryoma been so grateful to Oishi-sempai, this was quickly wiped out as Oishi took one look at the freshman and began fretting. "Echizen, are you okay? You don't look well. Are you sick?" Ryoma swatted at his sempai's hand as Oishi tried to see if Ryoma had a fever.

"I'm fine sempai!" he said with a scowl pulling his Fila cap down to somewhat hide his flushed face. Oishi-sempai did not look convinced at all. "Really I'm fine."

"Okay, well at least promise me you'll go to the nurse's office later." Ryoma sighed, his sempai worried way too much.

"Che, mada mada dane."

"Echizen!"

"Okay Oishi-sempai I promise." Ryoma said with a sigh, and the still worried Oishi gave a nod of approval.

YukiRyo Linebreak of Awesomeness!

Ryoma suffered through his morning classes, okay so it wasn't that bad as he got to sleep during his English and Math classes but during P.E. and Geography he felt like he was dying. Ryoma decided to skip lunch and went to nap on the roof and managed to sleep right through his afternoon classes as well. But in the end Ryoma was quite happy that he had forced himself to go to school, it all paid off when he found out that they were having practice matches with Rikkaidai Fuzoku for tennis practice. He hoped that he would be given the chance to have a rematch with Kirihara or Sanada or, better yet, Yukimura.

"Tezuka, it's good to see you again." Yukimura said shaking Seigaku's buchou's hand. "It's good to see you again too Echizen-san." Giving Ryoma a kind smile while noting that the boy's face was flushed and his eyes were bloodshot with dark purple crescents underneath. Said boy scowled and pulled his cap down over his eyes.

"Mada mada dane." He muttered and then tried to muffle the cough that followed. Then he set off to find something to drink, hopefully Ponta. Yukimura frowned as he watched the boy walk away, was it just him or did the younger seem a little unsteady on his feet. The blunette shook his head; he'd have to ask Tezuka about it later.

YukiRyo Linebreak of Awesomeness!

Ryoma sipped at the cold water that came from the faucet, it wasn't half as good as Ponta but it was still amazing and it took all of Ryoma's self restraint not to gulp it down and worsen the stomach ache he already had. However he did splash some on his face in an attempt to cool himself down, he felt like he was burning alive and he was tempted to take off his jacket but he didn't want his sempai to worry again especially since it was actually quite cool out. Speaking of worrying his sempai he probably needed to get back to practice.

Ryoma turned the faucet off and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. He turned to leave and started walking away but promptly walked into a hard wall of flesh. He looked up and was surprised to see the Rikkaidai captain looking down at him. Ryoma glared up at him but he just smiled.

"Hello there Echizen-kun~" The blunette cooed.

"What do you want?" The captain frowned at Ryoma's bluntness. His frowned deepened and his eyebrows knitted together when he realized that the boy seemed a lot worse than before. His breathing was labored and his eyes were glazed from fever.

"You don't look well at all." Ryoma scowled, this was NOT an answer to his question. "Are you alright Echizen-san?" Ryoma opened his mouth to say that he was fine but as he did so the world began to spin and the next thing he knew the ground was rushing up to meet him. "Echizen-san? Echizen-san!" Yukimura's voice was distant and sounded as though it was underwater. Ryoma wasn't sure what happened after that all he knew was that his body never actually hit the ground but was instead enveloped in something soft and warm.


	2. Into the Lion's Den

I don't really know anything about Yukimura's family except that he lives with his father, mother, grandmother, and younger sister so anything I write about them I'm just BSing really ^.^' one more thing in the fanfic his sister is going to be seven or six even though I'm guessing she would be older if the characters are in high school and on Yukimura's schedule from Pair Puri it says he checks over her schoolwork because he asks her to so…yeah anyways on with the story. Oh and Ryoma might seem somewhat ooc, it's because of his fever.

Review replies:

Anime Alpha 14: Thanks! It's reviews like this that make me want to keep writing.

BadyGuz: Yeah poor Ryo-chan ^.^' as for Tezuka I think that Fuji's just keeping him a little too distracted ;)

Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis; if I did this pairing would be canon simple as that.

**Chicken Soup for Ryoma's Soul **

**Chapter 2: Into the Lion's Den**

The first thing Ryoma realized upon regaining consciousness was that he was not lying on the cold hard ground like he should be. Not that he wanted to be on the ground, no he quite preferred the soft warm bed, but it just seemed strange especially since the bed wasn't his or one of the one's in the nurse's office… Where the hell am I? he wondered as he attempted to sit up.

"You're at my house." Ryoma looked up to see Yukimura he blinked in surprise but more importantly… Did I say that out loud? "Yes I'm afraid you did." Yukimura couldn't help but chuckle as Ryoma's already fever flushed face darkened with a blush.

"Why am I here?" Ryoma asked. Yukimura grabbed a chair and pulled it up beside the bed.

"You fainted." The blunette replied whilst staring at the cat-eyed boy way too intently.

"But why am I here, why aren't I at my house?"

"You were running a really high fever, I was quite surprised that you let yourself get that sick or more importantly that your sempai let you get that sick." A dangerous light flashed in Yukimura's eyes and Ryoma shuddered, it reminded him way too much of Fuji sempai but more importantly, Ryoma scowled darkly.

"That doesn't answer my question." Yukimura chuckled again as if Ryoma had made a joke.

"When you fainted I immediately went to go ask Tezuka if I could bring you home, he said okay but your other sempai, the one with spiky hair – "

"Momo-sempai."

"Right him, he mentioned something about your family being in America, and I couldn't just bring you home besides my dad's a doctor you're in good hands." Yukimura's smile shifted slightly and Ryoma wasn't so sure if he really was in 'good hands' but he was too tired to protest at the moment. Yukimura frowned and brushed some hair out of the younger boy's face and laid the back of his hand on his forehead, Ryoma sighed it felt cool. "You still feel really feverish, get some rest. I'll wake you later when my dad gets home so he can take a look at you." Ryoma didn't even reply, of course that was because he had already fallen asleep.

_**LINEBREAKER OF DOOOM!**_

_Ryoma groaned, it was so hot! There was fire everywhere burning down his home and he was trapped inside. The flames licked at his skin, Ryoma cried out in pain. He'd never really burned himself before but he didn't know that being burned alive would hurt this bad! _

"_Ryoma!" Ryoma looked around startled. A voice? Someone was calling for him. "Ryoma!" Where was it coming from? Ryoma saw a pathway open up in the flames and there at the end was a door, running forward before the flames decided to close again Ryoma reached for the handle and – _

"Echizen-kun!" Ryoma shot straight up knocking heads with Yukimura and flopped back onto the bed. The two boys took a moment to recollect themselves and rub their heads. "Are you alright Echizen-kun? You looked like you were having a nightmare." Ryoma scowled and rolled over.

"I'm fine."

"Ah I see, well my father's home and is going to take a look at you he'll be up in a minute."

"Actually I'm already here Seiichi." Ryoma looked around Yukimura to see a man that looked remarkably like the Rikkaidai captain except older and his hair was longer and pulled back into a ponytail…and he had glasses. "Okay let's take a look at you then Echizen-san." The man sat in the chair that Yukimura had occupied earlier. "Open." Ryoma obeyed and the man slid a thermometer into the cat-eyed boy's mouth.

"Echizen-kun, this is my father." Ryoma who was unable to talk just nodded.

"You can call me Daisuke-san if you'd like." The man, who was Yukimura's father, said with a soft smile much like Yukimura's. The thermometer beeped and the man, now known as Yukimura's father and Daisuke-san, slid it out of Ryoma's mouth and studied it with a small frown. "103.5, well I'd definitely say you have a fever. What are your other symptoms?" Ryoma listed off everything: headache; sore throat; upset stomach; cough, put in Yukimura, Ryoma glared at him. Daisuke nodded thoughtfully as each symptom was named. "I'd say you have a case of the flu. You can't go home since no one is there to take care of you; you'll have to stay here until you're well."

"How long will that be?" Hopefully it wouldn't be too long, Ryoma wanted to play tennis again.

"About a week or so." A week? A week…A WEEK! A week without tennis! And then Ryoma started to go through the stages of loss:

**Stage One: Denial**

"No, no this cannot be happening!" Ryoma yelled at the roof immediately breaking down into a coughing fit. "I can't be sick for a week! Noooo!" Yukimura stared at the prince of tennis not sure whether to back away slowly or comfort the boy.

**Stage Two: Anger**

"STUPID VIRUS! STUPID FLU BUG!" Ryoma screamed and Yukimura and his father began inching towards the door. "ARGH! I JUST WANT TO BITE SOMEONE IN THE FUCKING FACE! STUPID VIRUS!"

**Stage Three: Bargaining**

"Are you there God?" Ryoma asked folding his hands and looking towards the heavens. "Listen if you would just give me a mulligan on this whole sick-for-a-week thing I promise, I promise no more saying 'mada mada dane' or calling my father a 'baka oyaji'."

**Stage Four: Depression**

"WAAAHAAAA! WAAAAAHHH!" Daisuke had taken the opportunity to escape the room while the boy was trying to bargain with God while Yukimura had stayed; now he was regretting that decision.

**Stage Five: Acceptance**

"Are you okay Echizen-kun?" Yukimura asked eyeing the boy warily. Ryoma wiped a few stray tears from his eyes and nodded, maybe staying with Yukimura wouldn't be too bad, at least he wouldn't have to take care of himself or deal with his father.

"SEI-KUN!" A woman with black blue hair in the same style as Nanako's rushed into the room "I heard a loud wailing noise that sounded like a dying cat!" The woman grabbed Yukimura's arm. "Did you finally decide to be like your father and become a doctor or I guess if you were operating on the cat it would be a surgeon." Following the woman was an older woman with long wavy hair, she was carrying a small satellite dish.

"What? Was it the aliens?" The woman rushed over to the window and opening it and sticking her head out she shouted: "TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

Ryoma suddenly had a change of mind, he needed to get out of this madhouse as soon as possible!


	3. The Flu is What Makes the World go Round

This chapter won't be quite as crack filled as the previous chapter. And it does start containing more adult themes from this point onward as well, just as a warning in case you do not want to read that kind of thing.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis; if I did this pairing would be canon simple as that.

**Chicken Soup for Ryoma's Soul **

**Chapter 3: The Flu is What Makes the World go Round**

"Sorry about that." Yukimura said as he closed to door to the guest bedroom after chasing his mom and his grandmother out. "My family's a little strange if you haven't noticed." Ryoma just grunted in response, the day had been so strange that it left him feeling exhausted. Yukimura walked over and brushed some hair out of Ryoma's face, Ryoma scowled and jerked away from the touch. "You look tired, you should get some rest but first…my father left some medicine here for you." Ryoma took one look at the bottle of green liquid and shook his head.

"I'm not taking that." He said pulling the covers up over his head and turning to face the wall. Behind him he heard Yukimura let out an exasperated sigh.

"Come on Echizen-kun it's not that bad." Ryoma decided not to respond to that statement, after all anyone could tell you that the medicine was disgusting. "Okay so maybe it tastes horrible but if you want to get better faster it's the only way. You do want to play tennis again soon right?" Ryoma poked his head out from the blankets and glared at Yukimura.

"Fine I'll take it." He said and watched with dread as Yukimura filled a spoon with the vile liquid and then pressed it to Ryoma's lips. The cat-eyed boy gulped and opened his mouth, he swallowed the medicine as fast as he could but the bitter taste still lingered in his mouth. Yukimura chuckled as Ryoma wiped his tongue on the sleeve of his shirt.

"I'll go get you some water to get rid of the taste." The older boy stated. "Don't get out of bed for any reason now, unless you need the toilet. If that's the case it's right across the hall from your room." Ryoma sighed and leaned back after Yukimura left. He was tired and the room felt like it was spinning. Maybe he could just close his eyes for a few minutes while he waited for Yukimura to come back with the water.

* * *

_Ryoma groaned, it was so hot! There was fire everywhere burning down his home and he was trapped inside. The flames licked at his skin, Ryoma cried out in pain. He'd never really burned himself before but he didn't know that being burned alive would hurt this bad! Wait…wasn't this the same dream that he had been having before? Ryoma's eyebrows knitted and he scowled maybe this time he could see what was behind that door._

"_Ryoma!" Ryoma looked around startled; it was the same voice from before. "Ryoma!" Ryoma saw a pathway open up in the flames and there at the end was the door, running forward before the flames decided to close again Ryoma reached for the handle and turned it opening the door all he could see was a bright, white, light._

_

* * *

_

Ryoma sat straight up in bed and throwing back his covers he made a mad dash for the bathroom. He barely made it to the porcelain goddess before he lost the meager breakfast that he had had that morning and whatever else had been in his stomach including the medicine that the blunette captain had forced upon him after his stomach was empty he began dry heaving. It seemed like hours later, but in reality it was only a few minutes, when he finally stopped heaving. Ryoma sat back feeling even more exhausted than he had before, however he knew he should probably get back to bed. Sitting up Ryoma flushed the toilet and then stood he stumbled out the door and then stopped. Was it just him or did the hallway seem to be spinning? Ryoma pitched forward and lost consciousness, luckily for him Yukimura appeared in the nick of time to once again prevent his body from colliding with the floor.

"Echizen!" The blunette cried his voice tight with worry. He looked down and was at least somewhat relieved that the boy was still breathing even if it did seem somewhat labored. Yukimura blushed as he continued to stare at the younger boy. His flushed face, slightly messed hair, and his panting were almost too much for Yukimura to take. His body was filled with desire and Yukimura knew he should probably bring the boy back to bed and then get as far away from him as possible before he did something that he would regret later. He picked Ryoma up bridal style and deposited him back on the bed in the guest bedroom barely taking the time to pull the blankets up on the small body before making a hasty retreat to the bathroom. He closed the door and slid to the ground. Undoing his pants he pulled out his hardened member and began to pump it, in Yukimura's mind was an image of Ryoma with crying out with pleasure as Yukimura pumped himself into him. Yukimura muffled a cry as he came he sat there for a moment just staring down at himself then stood up and cleaned himself off.

He walked back to the guest room and looked down at the sleeping Ryoma, his breathing wasn't quite as labored now and he didn't look like he was in as much pain as before. He looked so cute and innocent, like a sleeping kitten and it took all of Yukimura's concentration not to grab the boy in a strong embrace. A shudder ran down the captain's body and he lifted a hand to his face to brush his hair back.

"I'm so sick." He muttered while still staring at the sleeping boy. Slowly he reached out and tucked an emerald lock back behind his ear and then stroked the boy's face. Ryoma shifted slightly in his sleep, Yukimura tensed but then the cat-eyed boy let out a sigh of contentment then he did something that nearly made Yukimura faint in surprise, he smiled. The captain let out a sigh of relief and couldn't help but smile softly as well. He leaned in and gave Ryoma a soft kiss on the forehead. "Sleep well Ryoma."

* * *

Ryoma slowly pried his eyes open. It was light out which seemed odd as it felt like he had been sleeping a long time and it should have been night by now. He looked over at the clock on the wall and his question was answered: it was three in the afternoon. He'd slept through the night as well as much of the day, Ryoma's stomach growled and he decided to he needed something to eat. Most likely Yukimura was still at school so that left Ryoma with only one option: He would have to explore the house and see what he could find. Slowly Ryoma slid his legs off the side of the bed and stood. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn't feel dizzy and his legs didn't give out, though he still felt weak and somewhat feverish and maybe a little wobbly, at least he could walk.

Ryoma wandered down the hall and a set of stairs and then ran into the same woman with black-blue hair that he had met yesterday. Yukimura's mother, he believed and if he remembered correctly the blunette had told him that her name was Hana.

"Echizen-kun! What are you doing up?" Ryoma didn't have the chance to answer her as his stomach did that for him. "Ah you're hungry, I see well come along then and I'll fix you something to eat, how about some soup? Oh you can call me Hana-san by the way" She said with a wink. Ryoma sat down at the family's table and waited while Yukimura's mother fixed him some chicken noodle soup, at his request of course. Normally he prefered Japanese food over American food but chicken tasted so much better than leeks or whatever else the Japanese ate when they were sick. "Seiichi talks about you a lot you know Echizen-kun." The woman prattered on as she cooked. "He's clearly impressed with your tennis." She set a bowl in front of him and sat down across from him. Ryoma began to devour the soup as if he was half starved. "To be honest I think he might have a crush on you." Ryoma choked on his soup. And his mind began to spin, what had she just said? "I sometimes hear him calling your name at night at first I thought that he might have finally brought a girl home with him but sadly no. I guess I won't be getting any grandchildren any time soon but that's okay because you seem like a really sweet person." Hana smiled sweetly. Ryoma stared at the table completely bewildered, the only though going through his mind was:

What. The. Fuck.


	4. Love Sick?

Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis; if I did this pairing would be canon simple as that.

**Chicken Soup for Ryoma's Soul **

**Chapter 4: Love Sick?**

Ryoma stared up at the ceiling of the guest bedroom, he really should go to sleep, in fact he was in desperate need of sleep but he just couldn't force himself to close his eyes. He looked over at the chair next to his bed and, more importantly, at the person currently occupying said chair. Ryoma blushed and quickly looked away thankful that Yukimura was sleeping and unable to see. He couldn't stop thinking about what Yukimura's mom had said earlier about the blunette having a crush on him. It was bothering the poor boy and causing him to become an insomniac, it wasn't that he was disgusted by it but it made Ryoma far more aware of Yukimura, he couldn't look at the captain now without blushing.

Ryoma sighed and pushed his blankets back, slowly he stood, grabbing a blanket as he did so, and trying to be as quiet as possible he left the room. The hallway was dark and he had to feel for the wall, he wasn't sure where he was going but he needed to get sleep somehow and it just wasn't going to be possible with Yukimura in the same room as him. Slowly Ryoma made his way down stairs and into the living room. He lay down on the white couch and closed his eyes, positive that sleep would be impossible. Five minutes later, a foghorn couldn't have woken him up.

* * *

_Ryoma looked around, this dream was getting old. Surrounding him were flames and he felt unbearably hot. Of course he knew what would happen next, the voice would call him and the door would appear. Last time he hadn't quite gotten the chance to see what was behind it but this time oh this time would be different. Ryoma prepared himself for the moment when the flames would part._

_"Ryoma!" Strange, now that he was listening closely the voice sounded somewhat familiar but the cat-eyed boy couldn't place the person that it belonged to. "Ryoma!" The flames parted and Ryoma decided that he'd figure it out when he found out what was behind the door. Going forward Ryoma opened the door. Once again he saw a bright, white, light nothing new yet. A hand reached out and gently grasped Ryoma's hand. Ryoma was startled and tried to find the person that the hand belonged to but the light was still all he could see. The hand pulled Ryoma forward so that he stumbled into someone's loving embrace._

_

* * *

_

"Ryoma?" Ryoma groaned and opened his eyes and found himself looking into deep blue ones. Ryoma jerked back in surprise and the Rikkaidai captain took a step back to give the startled boy some space. "Ryoma? What are you doing down here?" Ryoma blinked stupidly.

"I couldn't sleep." The cat-eyed boy said a blush creeping up onto his face against his will.

"Was something wrong with the bed?"

"N-no I was just having t-trouble sleeping so I um thought I'd explore your house a b-bit." Great, the prince of tennis chastised himself, now I'm stuttering. I sound like Ryuuzaki! Yukimura frowned not sure whether to believe the younger or not, then he shrugged it didn't matter anyways.

"Well you should probably get back to bed." Yukimura extended a hand to help Ryoma up. "Here I'll help you." Ryoma blushed and then scowling he pushed the hand away.

"I don't need help I can do it on my own!" Ryoma stood up, maybe a little too fast the room began to spin and he stumbled forward. Yukimura caught his arm and pulled the younger boy close to his chest to keep him from falling. Ryoma's blush deepened and he swallowed hard, 'Why is my heart beating so fast?' The boy squeezed his eyes shut, 'Oh God I hope he can't hear it!'

"Are you alright Ryoma?" The blunette asked and Ryoma was forced to look up into his cerulean eyes. His breath caught in his throat and he quickly looked away.

"I-I'm fine! And don't call me by my first name!" Yukimura was startled when the boy snapped at him he frowned in concern.

"Alright, then." An awkward silence followed and then Yukimura cleared his throat. "I think your fever has gone up again, I should probably take you back to bed." Ryoma just nodded and allowed Yukimura to pick him up bridal style. After carrying Ryoma up to his room, depositing him on the bed, placing a cold cloth on his forehead, and making sure he was comfortable Yukimura turned to leave. He paused at the door and looked back at the younger boy. "The other regulars from Rikkaidai will be coming over tomorrow, I promised them that if they one all of their matches against Fudomine that they could have a party of sorts at my house. I just thought I'd warn you in case it got a little loud. Call me if you need anything then Echizen-san."

Ryoma stared at the door for a minute or two after Yukimura left and then flipping over onto his stomach he buried his head in his pillow and let out a cry of frustration. What the hell was wrong with him, he was acting like the girls in those shoujo manga, could it be…Ryoma looked up…love? The cat-eyed boy shook his head vehemently; there was no way in hell! Besides the fact that Seiichi was a guy, he was also from Rikkaidai a rival school. _And?_ Asked a tiny voice inside Ryoma's mind _Does all of that really matter when it comes to love?_ Ryoma pushed the voice away with a scowl digging his fingers into his palms until the nails punctured the skin leaving bright red crescents. Then Ryoma realized something else 'I just used his first name!'

"GAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

Yukimura looked up the stairs as he heard Ryoma scream. He wondered if he should go check on him but decided against him, the boy didn't seem like he wanted to see him right now. He had been acting strange since yesterday afternoon and the only explanation that Yukimura had was possibly Ryoma's fever, people acted weird when they had a fever right? There was no other explanation available the boy was probably just hallucinating like Yukimura's Nana did sometimes. Speaking of his Nana, Yukimura sighed as he looked up. She had been on the roof for the past three days now trying to contact the "Aliens".

"Take me to your leader you aliens!" The little old woman shook her fist at the sky. "Bring me to your mothership! Please just take me with you!"

* * *

_Ding dong._ Yukimura pulled the front door open and smiled at his teammates. Kirihara was looking at everything like it was sacred, Niou was staring up at his poor Nana and had a mischievous look on his face, Yanagi was naturally writing down everything in his notebook, Marui looked bored same with Yagyuu, Jackal was just being, well, Jackal, and Sanada was Tarundoruing the hell out of all of them. Yukimura forced a smile and opened the door wider so that they could enter.

"Welcome everyone, please come in." He motioned and the regulars quickly stepped inside with Kirihara leading the way.

"Waa~h so this is buchou's house!" Yukimura was a little worried that the seaweed head might try and take a, er, "souvenir" so he shot Sanada a pointed look that said to keep an eye on him. Yukimura directed his teammates towards the living room where he had provided snacks, games and other things.

"Everyone could you try to keep it down, one of my father's patients is staying with us and he's upstairs resting right now." Yukimura stated with a sadistic smile, letting everyone in the room know that this was not a request but an order.

* * *

"Waa~h so this is buchou's house!" Ryoma groaned as a familiar voice woke him up. He knew that he knew the voice but his mind was so fuzzy that he couldn't think of who the voice belonged to. The poor fevered boy tried to go back to sleep but he felt so uncomfortably hot that he couldn't, he kicked back the blankets but a few minutes later he was shivering and had to grab the blankets and pull them up to his chin. He repeated this process a couple times unable to get comfortable before another thought sprang forth in his fevered mind, he needed the toilet. He pushed himself upright and waited until the room stopped spinning before he stumbled towards the door. Now where was the bathroom again? Ryoma stumbled down the hallway and down the stairs, in reality it was a really short distance, but in his fevered state he felt that he had gone down a winding staircase and been through so many hallways that he was utterly lost. He let out a sob and tears began to cascade down his face.

"Ryoma?"

* * *

Yukimura was enjoying spending quality time with his teammates; well not really actually he was doing his best not to lose his sanity, when he heard the creak of someone coming down the stairs. He looked and was surprised to see Ryoma slowly making his way down. Yukimura leapt to his feet, this caught his teammate's attention and they looked to see what had made the captain act in such a way, never had they been more surprised.

"Isn't that…Seigaku's Echizen Ryoma?" Kirihara asked, voicing what all of them were feeling at the moment. Things became even stranger for the Rikkaidai tennis members as the tennis prodigy suddenly began to cry. Yukimura rushed forward.

"Ryoma?" The boy looked up as the blunette captain said his name. Yukimura knelt down and wiped some tears from the younger boy's face. "What's wrong?" Ryoma's bottom lip quivered as he tried to hold back his tears.

"T-toilet." The boy sobbed. The next thing Yukimura knew Ryoma was peeing in the middle of his hallway. Yukimura was stunned not quite sure what to say or do. "I-I'm s-sorry." Ryoma hiccupped and Yukimura snapped out of his daze.

"No it's alright." Yukimura said Patting Ryoma gently on the head before the waterworks started again. "Here um, let's take you upstairs and we'll get you cleaned up okay." Yukimura turned to his teammates. "I'll be right back." Then he picked up the cat-eyed boy and carried him upstairs bridal style.

* * *

Yukimura had just put Ryoma back to bed (he even tucked him in and read him a story ;D) when he heard someone open the door to the guest bedroom. He turned to see Sanada.

"We cleaned up the mess downstairs." The Rikkaidai captain leaned casually against the doorframe.

"Thank you." Yukimura said with a soft smile.

"That was somewhat unexpected."

"I guess he was disoriented because of his fever and didn't even remember the bathroom was right across from his room." Yukimura looked down at the sleeping boy somewhat amused about the matter.

"No I meant the way he acted."

"Oh that, Ryoma gets emotional when he has a high fever…and clingy." Yukimura laughed softly as the sleeping boy reached out and grabbed his arm trying to nuzzle into it like a cat.

"That's twice now that you've called him by his first name." Yukimura looked up at the vice captain with a frown.

"Is it?"

"How long Yukimura?"

"What do you mean Sanada? How long what?"

"How long have you been in love with him?" Sanada motioned to the sleeping Ryoma who was completely oblivious to the conversation. Yukimura pursed his lips as he attempted to come up with an answer to Sanada's question.

"How long you ask. I'd say since I first played him in Nationals when we were in middle school, at that time when I saw that determined look in his beautiful golden eyes."


	5. All's Well That Ends Well

Authors Note: This will be the last chapter of the story, I know it's short but fear not I shall write more YukiRyo fanfiction later. To be honest I'm just not that good at multi-chapter fanfiction usually because my imagination is ginormous and it causes me to lose interest in whatever I'm currently writing. So I'm better at one or two chapter stories. Anyways that's all I wanted to say. Oh Yeah and I realized that I made two mistakes in my previous chapter that my spelling and grammar check didn't pick up on, I put "one" instead of "won" and "against him" instead "against it", I'm terribly sorry that I didn't pick up on this and I hope it didn't bother you too much. Also it would be too much work to take it down and fix it so I'm just going to leave it as it is. But it makes me wonder if I didn't make any similar mistakes in my other chapters…Gah! You guys are supposed to point this stuff out for me! Aah well I'm sorry I didn't see it before posting the chapter (I even reread it twice before posting and I still missed it!) please forgive this poor authoress.

Random Review Replies:

Demoncat13: I don't know, I've heard of some people becoming delirious like that and acting ooc and in Special A when Hikari has a high fever she acts ooc. It might depend on the person and how severe the fever is. By the way I've seen your username somewhere on fanfiction before but can not for the life of me remember where…

The0Hidden0Key: I would choose the first option too, laughing like a maniac is always fun ^.^

Disclaimer: I don't own the Prince of Tennis; if I did this pairing would be canon simple as that.

**Chicken Soup for Ryoma's Soul **

**Chapter 5: All's Well That Ends Well**

"_That's twice now that you've called him by his first name." Yukimura looked up at the vice captain with a frown._

"_Is it?"_

"_How long Yukimura?"_

"_What do you mean Sanada? How long what?"_

"_How long have you been in love with him?" Sanada motioned to the sleeping Ryoma who was completely oblivious to the conversation. Yukimura pursed his lips as he attempted to come up with an answer to Sanada's question._

"_How long you ask. I'd say since I first played him in Nationals when we were in middle school, at that time when I saw that determined look in his beautiful golden eyes."_

_

* * *

_

Ryoma groaned and opened his eyes (This seems to be happening a lot doesn't it). What happened? He couldn't remember anything past going to bed the night, Ryoma glanced over at the clock, yeah, night before. He had a vague memory of Yukimura talking about him and 'beautiful golden eyes' but it was so foggy and vague that he was positive that it had just been a dream. Yeah, just part of his feverish dreams. Speaking of his fever it seemed to have gone down quite a bit, he felt like his body was almost its normal temperature again.

Now that he was finally fully coherent since he had arrived at Yukimura's house he realized…he was fucking bored out of his mind. The cat eyed boy swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He needed to do something, _anything_, he just couldn't stand sitting around any longer than he had to. So walking over to the door he opened it and nearly walked into a young girl with dark blue hair in two pigtails. She looked to be about seven years of age and wore a bright pink shirt and yellow overalls.

"Eh, are you lost onii-san?" She asked looking up at him with bright blue eyes that reminded of him of Sei – er – Yukimura. Could this be his little sister? Before Ryoma could reply to the question she had just asked him she seized his hands and looked up at him her face aglow with happiness. "Does onii-san want to play princess with me."

"Er, um, sure." Ryoma wasn't a kid person and he definitely wasn't the type of guy to 'play princess' but how could anyone say no to something so cute and besides it would help him pass the time.

"Great, we're both princesses and we're going to be going to the ball, but you have to tell me your name first so that Mr. Bear can announce you when we get there."

"My name's Ryoma."

"Okay Ryo-nii," the girl said tugging him along to what Ryoma assumed was her bedroom. "Let's go get you ready, you can't attend the ball looking like that!"

* * *

Ryoma's fever had broken some time early that morning. Yukimura was so relieved for a while he had actually been afraid the boy was going to die. He just looked so small and vulnerable; the blunette shuddered at the memory. Speaking of said boy Yukimura had heard some movement upstairs and was guessing that the boy was up and moving. The Rikkaidai captain sighed and stood up from the couch, Ryoma was probably feeling better but he wasn't quite well yet, he still needed rest.

So the heading up the stairs the blunette was ready to force the boy back into bed with force if he had to. Not that he would ever hurt his Ryo-chan. Yukimura stopped momentarily and chided himself, Ryoma was not his…not yet anyways. Stopping at Ryoma's room Yukimura wasn't surprised to see that the boy wasn't in there but he was puzzled as to where the cat-eyed boy could have gone…then he heard voices coming from his sister's room one was his little sister and the other was…Ryoma?

Yukimura opened the door and…

"Ha…ha…haha…hahaahahahaheehaaha." He just couldn't stop laughing. Sitting before him the tennis prodigy in all his glory…

Ryoma tensed and felt all the heat in his body rush to his face. Crap…oh crap…Seiichi had just saw him covered in pink sparkles with badly smeared make up with streamers and other various 'pretty' items in his hair and now the blunette was laughing at him. It almost made Ryoma want to cry out of shear embarrassment but, he was Echizen Ryoma and Echizen Ryoma did NOT cry…then again he didn't wear make up or pink glitter either.

"Seiichi onii-san?" The young girl asked staring at her brother in confusion. Then she pointed an accusing finger at Ryoma. "Ryo-nii you broke Seiichi onii-san!"

"No, no, it's alright Aoi-chan…" Yukimura dissolved into a laughter fit again. "S-sorry this is a patient of Dad's Aoi-chan and a friend of mine he's sick right now so..heehee…and need's rest so if I could just steal him from you."

"Eh? Okay Seiichi onii-san but you have to promise to play princess with me later."

"Okay, okay I promise." And with that the blunette seized the younger boy's hand and brought him back to the guest bedroom before he completely dissolved in laughter again.

"It's not that funny." Ryoma said a pout er, scowl (he threatened me with his tennis and said he would murder me with it if I didn't change it T.T) plastered on his face.

"Yeah you're right." He reached over and began pulling various objects out of Ryoma's hair. "Here let's get you cleaned up by the way if you were really that bored you could have called me and I would have gotten something for you to do."

"Yeah…sorry." Yukimura frowned. Did he just apologize, that was very uncharacteristic of him. "Er um Seiichi," Ryoma stumbled the words tumbling out of his mouth before he could stop them. "Do you, do you love me?"

And the world stopped completely frozen in that second of time.

"What did you just say?" Yukimura asked his mind a hazy mess.

"I asked," Ryoma looked away blushing heavily. "If…you love me?"

The blunette stumbled to the bed, he needed to sit down. How did Ryoma know? How had he found out? Instead of just pointlessly wondering about these things Yukimura decided to voice his thoughts.

"How did you-?"

"Your mom said that you had a crush on me before." Ah, Yukimura stared down at the ground black dots swimming before his eyes, his mom. Damn her.

"Do you hate me? Do you think…I'm disgusting?" Yukimura closed his eyes tight and waited for whatever harsh words Ryoma would throw at him, maybe the boy would just beat him senseless…he deserved it after all…but…nothing happened. Slowly Yukimura opened his eyes and looked up at the boy who was smirking down at him, 'Oh God what is he going to do?'

"Mada mada dane." The next thing Yukimura knew Ryoma's soft lips that he had so often fantasized about were on his own. It took a while to realize what was happening but when Ryoma tried to push Yukimura down on the bed Yukimura suddenly realized what was happening. 'Oh no you don't.' He thought quickly moving to reverse their positions. 'I'm the seme here.' Yukimura kissed Ryoma and reached a hand down towards Ryoma's pants and…(I'm going to stop there since this fic is only rated T, sorry XD Yah I know I'm evil ^.^)

* * *

"If I get sick because of you -" Yukimura started as he gently stroked the cat-eyed boy's hair. He was cut off as Ryoma scoffed.

"As if, idiots don't get sick after all." Yukimura chuckled and nuzzled Ryoma's neck.

"So mean Ryo-chan." Ryoma scowled and tried to pull the blankets up farther unable to suppress the small shiver that racked his frame. Yukimura wrapped his arms around the boy pulling him close and giving him the warmth he seeked. "Go to sleep now Ryo-chan." The boy quickly obeyed.

_Ryoma looked around, of course, the same dream. Surrounding him were flames and he felt unbearably hot. And he knew what would happen next, the voice would call him and the door would appear. _

_"Ryoma!" The cat eyed boy smirked as he finally realized who the voice belonged to. "Ryoma!" The flames parted and Ryoma began his trek forward slowly he opened the door. He saw the bright, white, and the hand reached out pulling him into a warm loving embrace. Looking up he already knew who it was that he would see. Beautiful blue locks, deep cerulean eyes, it could only be his Sei. Ryoma relaxed pressing his face against the warm chest._

"_I love you Ryo-chan."_

"_I love you too, Sei."_

_

* * *

_

Yukimura never did catch Ryoma's flu.

"I told you idiots don't get sick."

"So mean Ryo-chan, maybe I should punish you."

"Wha-? Hey! What the hell are you doing pervert!"


End file.
